As another week of strikes on Iran approaches, Americans are bracing for soaring gas prices and sustained inflation. With an April 15 deadline looming, many taxpayers dread their final bill from the IRS. Here in West Tennessee, tornado season is now underway, often leading to numerous sleepless and watchful nights. As the completion of another school year hangs on the horizon, students are anxious about final exams and GPAs.
On and on it goes, but no matter the problem or issue, all of us deal with the nagging, intrusive burden of WORRY. The uneducated worry because they don’t know enough. The educated worry because they know too much. The poor worry because of what they do not have. The wealthy worry because they fear losing what they do have. The young worry because they don’t want to get older. The elderly worry because they are afraid of not getting older.
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All of us, in varying degrees and frequency, will have to face the enemy of worry along the way.
What did Jesus say about worry?
Believe it or not, Jesus had a great deal to say about this subject. His Sermon on the Mount offers practical guidelines for overcoming our common nemesis. With piercing clarity and pastoral concern, our Savior is eager to free us from the anxieties that plague us.
First, we should realize that worry is sinful. Three prohibitions against worry underscore its offense to God. Do not worry about your life (Matt. 6:25); do not worry about what you will eat or wear (Matt. 6:31); and do not worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34). For Jesus, worry is more than a bad habit; it is practical atheism. Restlessness communicates that we do not trust God to handle our problems. Faith and distress are always in dichotomy. Without mincing words, Jesus insists that Christians who worry behave more like unbelievers than children of God (Matt. 6:32).
Second, we should recognize worry as illogical. To illustrate the foolishness of worry, Jesus points to nature, specifically the birds of the air and the lilies of the field (Matt. 6:26-30). Have you ever heard of a bird being treated for high blood pressure? Or stress? Though they do not know where their next meal will come from, God feeds them, and they thrive.
Think about the beauty of wildflowers growing in a field. While these plants do nothing to grow, they still clothe the countryside with their beauty. Such natural wonders are here today and gone tomorrow, yet God still covers His creation with them. If the Lord will feed the animals and dress nature with such elegance, how much more will He take care of human beings who bear his image (Gen. 1:26-28)? Furthermore, if the Lord is faithful to meet our daily needs, we can certainly trust Him with our tomorrows.
Worry is not only unbiblical, but also nonsensical!
Finally, we should resist worry with spiritual priorities. In order to prevent worry before it starts, we must learn to reorder our goals and ambitions.
Much of what causes us stress and unease reveals our desire for pursuits that are unholy or selfish. Thus, Jesus instructs us to seek God’s Kingdom and righteousness first, believing that He will supply all our needs (Matt. 6:33). Simply put, our greatest passion in life ought to be the pursuit of God’s will. Jesus does not want a place in your life; He does not want prominence in your life; He wants preeminence in your life, and nothing else.
Finding tranquility
Ironically, the pursuit of personal happiness will ultimately lead to our demise.
When we seek God’s perfect reality for our lives, though, there is joy in addition to freedom from anxiety. Our thought lives, spending habits, recreational hobbies, personal goals, relationships, and work ethic must come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ if we want to enjoy the peace that passes understanding (Phil. 4:6–7). At the risk of oversimplifying, much of what we worry about is the result of ambitions that contradict the kingdom of God rather than build it.
Thus, absolute surrender to the will of God is the first step toward tranquility. Happiness is often a wonderful by-product of the holiness the Lord desires to build into our lives.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and author of “Hope When Life Unravels and Exalting Jesus in 1-2 Chronicles.”
